Maximum Ram Temple donation theft happened during Kumbh, cops find
What's the story
The Ayodhya Police have made a major breakthrough in the Ram Mandir donation theft case, revealing that most of the theft occurred during the Kumbh Mela in early 2025. The accused, police said, took advantage of a massive surge in donations during this period, adding they were involved in petty thefts even before Kumbh. Eight people have been arrested so far: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav.
Key suspects
Brothers-in-law used stolen money to buy properties
The investigation has revealed that Lav Kush Mishra and Anukalp Mishra, both brothers-in-law, stole the maximum amount. They allegedly used the stolen money to buy properties, with police tracing over six such properties linked to them. The Ayodhya Police is now working with the Income Tax Department to investigate these financial transactions and properties further.
Financial investigation
SBI employees under scanner
The role of State Bank of India (SBI) employees has also come under the scanner, as the counting of cash donations is authorized by the bank. The Ayodhya Police plans to involve the Enforcement Directorate for a detailed probe into the money trail and financial transactions. SBI is responsible for counting cash donations at Ram Mandir, employing a private agency for this task with a team of 14 members, including bank staff and temple trust representatives.
Cash recovery
Biggest cash recovery made from Avinash Shukla's hideout
The biggest cash recovery was made from Avinash Shukla's Kaushalpuri hideout, a yoga center linked to his brother Abhishek and run by one Seema Tiwari. Seema, who runs the yoga center, confirmed that police raided on June 5 and recovered a large amount of cash hidden inside blankets in four boxes. One box had "Ram Rajya Kosh" written on it. Abhishek claimed his brother was involved in the drug trade when questioned about the raid and cash found during it.
Home searches
Driver Tinnu Yadav's role being investigated
The Ayodhya Police on Sunday searched the homes of all accused and recovered cash from Tinnu Yadav's house. Tinnu was former Trust general secretary Champat Rai's driver. Reports suggest that Tinnu had one key to the counting room while bank staff had another. During the nearly two-hour question session on Monday, Avinash said they knew where cameras were placed on the premises and avoided detection by hiding stolen money in bathrooms before retrieving it later.
Financial discrepancies
Banking details of all accused collected
The Uttar Pradesh government had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to probe the case. Interestingly, ₹58 lakh was recovered from Shukla's house on June 5, even before an FIR was registered. The remaining money was returned through bank transfers between June 5-8. This indicates efforts to recover embezzled funds started before any formal legal proceedings were initiated. Given the seriousness of the matter, the state government has granted the SIT a 15-day extension.